Book, catalogue, or the like



July 9, 1940.

l.. E. WHITON 2,207,604

BOOK, CATALOGUE, OR THE LIKE Filed OCt. l2, 1939 i Patented `uly 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BooK, CATALOGUE, R TlEfLIKE 'I' Lucius E. Whiton, New London, Conn.v Application october 12, 1939, serialNo. 299,175

4 Claims.

This invention relates to books, pamphlets, catalogues, or other analogous publications, and is especially concerned with a novel provision for the covers or title pages and the position and 5 directionof the printed matter appearing in the publication.

The present almost universaluse in business correspondence of paper sheets `approximately 81/2 x 11l in size, and the large number of such 1U letters which must now be read at the desk with reference to catalogue or statistical information or tables, makes it desirable that such catalogue or book information shall be available when open, within the same space, and be capable of ling with such letters in the same space.

The present improved book is designed to provide this convenience whilealso permitting the book to be conveniently read in ones chair like any usual book and to be closed to a size approximately 51/2x81/2 Afor the bookcase or shelf. For convenient reading in ones chair, descriptive type matter may be arranged on some of the pages as in the ordinary book, and for reference studyl of drawings and dimension tables, price lists, etc., with letters, at the table or desk, some of the pages may be arranged for reading at right angles and in parallelism with accompanying letters on the usual size sheets.

The objects of the present invention include 3"` the provision of a book,fcatalogue, etc., which may be placed to stand on end on a shelf, as in the case of an ordinary book having the conventional cloth cover, but which also may be opened at the center, and in this condition, filed with ordinary paper files, asin an oflice, the paper les being about twice the size of fthe ordinary book; the provision of a book, catalogue, etc., having two separate and distinct covers, one cover being bound or loosely attached in the usual manner to the printed matter contained therewithin, and the other cover assuming a position in the center of the book or catalogue, in the location ordinarily assumed by the central leaves, so that the book or catalogue presents a cover or title page tothe reader whether it is wholly closed, or open at the center.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a book or catalogue, etc., embodying the present invention wherein said book or catalogue is shown in substantially closed or folded condition;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the book or catalogue shown in Fig. 1 but in a substantially fiat or unfolded condition;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modied form of the invention with parts broken away; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a further Inod- 5 ification of the invention with parts broken away.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral I0 indicates a book, catalogue or other publication embodying the present invention and provided with an outside cover or a title page l2 10 which extends around the leaves I4 to also form a back cover I6.. The leaves I4 extend fromoneopen edge of thebook or catalogue to the other open edge substantially coextensive with the cover I2. Therefore, when -the book is closed the pages I4 as well as the cover I2 are folded upon themselves, as shown at I8, Fig. 1. However, when the book is open or in unfolded condition, as shown in Fig. 2, the cover I2 lies at and the pages I4 likewise lie at. 20

In the center of the book or catalogue, there is located a second cover member 20 which is bound as b-y stitching 22 or other means to the leaves I4 and cover I2. The cover 20 will be seen to be contained within the publication when 25 the latter is in substantially closed condition, as in Fig.l 1. However, with the publication laid flat, as in Fig. 2,1the cover 20 forms an outside front cover and the cover I2 now becomes in effect a back cover and therefore the publication is providedfwith a complete cover I2 when folded but also has a complete cover comprising the members 20 and I2 when unfolded or flat. It is to be understood Athat the representation of cover 20 in Fig. 2 is lfor purposes of illustration 85 only, andthatthis cover would normally lie flat when the volume is unfolded.

In Ythe form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, it is seen that the first cover I2 has a back portion 24 which accommodates the fold L8 40 of the pages I4 when the publication is in closed condition. 'I'he second or inner cover 20 is provided at its position of fold with a narrow back member 26 which, as shown, corresponds to but is narrower than the back part 24 of the cover 45 I2. Also, the second cover 2t) may be provided with edges 28 which extend slightly Ibeyond the edges of the cover I2 and the leaves I4 when the publication is closed but which, however, due to the thickness of the leaves I4 at the fold I8, will 50 lie approximately even with the edges of the cover I2 when the publication is laid flat. This effect is somewhat enhanced by the extra width afforded by the narrow back strip 26.

Referring to Fig. 3, there is shown a modiiica- 55 'Til tion of the invention wherein the cover elements 36 and 32 are loosely bound by means of a ring or other loose-leaf binding means 34. In this case the pages 36 are separate from the pages 38. In this embodiment of the invention, the inner or second cover 40 is likewise secured to the covers 30 and 32 and pages 36 and 38 by means of the element 34 and the cover 40 may comprise a single folded cover piece, as shown in Fig. 3, or it may be composed of two separate parts similar in size and shape to the covers 30 and 32 and independent of each other in the saine way that the covers 30 and 32 are independent.

Referring to Fig. 4, a volume is shown in which the cover 42 is similar to that shown in Fig. 1 but in this case the pages 44 are independent and separate from pages 46, as is the case in Fig. '3 concerning pages 36 and 38,. In the .modification in Fig. 4, the pages 44 and 46 may be pasted or glued to the back portion 48 of the covei 42 and in this case the` second or inner cover 50, as shown, consists of a single piece of material foldedalong its center and glued or pasted .at the. fold to the back portion 48 of the louter cover 42. yAs is the case in the modificationin Fig. 1, the cover 56 may be provided with a narow back 'portion 52 and may also have, if desired, free edges which extend slightly beyond the edges of the cover 42, in the same manner as the edges 28 in Fig. l.

It is apparent that the book, catalogue, or other publication described above, whether made Las in Fig. l, Fig. 3 or Fig, 4, provides a volume which when closed or folded, as in Fig. 1, may be led on its bottom edge on a shelf as is the ordinary usage with books. However, if it is desired to file the volume in an ordinary filing cabinet along with papers of conventional business letter size or legal size, th volume which is the subject of this invention may be unfolded or laid flat, as shown in Fig. 2 and filed with such papers or letters, and in this case the volume will be substantially coextensive in size with such papers or letters. This result of the invention is an important advantage, especially in cases where a catalogue may be desired t0 be filed with letters and papers of a concern to the products of which the catalogue relates. kAlso, in many libraries, especially those of manufacturers, it is often desirable to arrange their pamphlets and catalogues in filing cabinets instead of on book shelves and this invention provides a means whereby the catalogue or publication may be filed either on shelves or in ling cabinets, conveniently and without the bulk of the conventional book, in the latter case.

As to the printed material to be contained in the publication under discussion, this may be arranged to appear from left to right of the pages 2,207,604 and as they appear inv Fig. 1 and as indicated on the cover I2 in this ligure, but itis preferred in a publication embodying this invention to arrange the printed matter to read along the long dimension of the inside pages, as shown in Fig. 2 and as indicated on the cover 20 in this figure, in which case material may be found by flippingthe pages downwardly or upwardly, the bottom of the publication being indicated at 54. This provides a Very convenient way in which to study the contents of the volume, while having the title page I2 read in conventional manner.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

l. In an article ofthe class described, a stack `of sheets of paper or the like, a cover member secured theretoalong one edge of the stack, and folded over both sides thereof, whereby a transverse central strip of the cover member is formed and constitutes a back, in combination with a second lcover member secured to the article along v a central transverse line between the centralf most sheets, and folded to form a back strip at the line of securement, said strip being narrower than the first-mentioned back and parallel there-- to, the free edges of the second cover extending slightly beyond the free edges of the sheets and of said first mentioned cover, when the article' is in closed or folded condition, as about said central transverse line.

2. A book or the like comprising a plurality of bound printedl pages, and a conventional main cover bearing the title of the book, said book when closed presenting the appearance ofan ordinary book and being adapted to stand on end upon a shelf, said book having a supplemental' cover inserted between the central pages of the book, also bearing the title of the book imprinted thereon, the book when opened at said supplemental cover portion being adapted to be filed.

with papers approximately twice the size of the closed book, said supplemental cover extending slightly beyond the free edges of the pages and of the first mentioned Icover when the book. is

LUCIUS E. WHITON. 

